12 Days of Snow and Lightning
by The Pickle System
Summary: For the 12 Days of Christmas I've written 12 fluffy Snowbarry oneshots! Set at some point in season 3 and ignores any notion of Westallen. Enjoy!
1. Day 1 - Let's Go Out

**Day 1 – Let's Go Out**

"Well you seem awfully chipper today," Caitlin remarked, seeing her speedy friend waltz into the cortex, a wide grin on his face. Her expression slowly but surely morphed into a smile; Barry's good mood was infectious.

"It's almost Christmas!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. She giggled. He was remarkably cute around Christmas time. "Come on, perk up! This is the best time of year!"

 _He's remarkably cute all the time_ she thought, staring at him as he walked over to examine his superhero costume. She smiled to herself, watching him practically bounce up and down in excitement. She wished she could work up the energy to be that excited about something.

"Let's go out," he said, making her yelp. The hero had sped right in front of her desk, blasting her with wind and blowing a bunch of papers into the air. "Oops, sorry," he added sheepishly, walking over to her and helping pick up the papers. Caitlin's heart was racing.

 _Let's go out? What, like go out go out? Like…_

As she followed that train of that, the poor doctor accidentally collided heads with her friend, both of them recoiling with an "ow."

 _Stop it, Caitlin. You're acting like a high-schooler. It's just Barry asking you hang out._

She reprimanded herself as she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry," she muttered standing upright as the pair got the last of the pages back onto the desk in (approximately) the right place. Barry smiled as he turned back to her.

"It's fine. Let's go out," he repeated, moving a bit closer to her. She gulped.

"Go… out?" she asked as if it was a foreign concept.

"Yeah… y'know… exit this building," he said, giving her an odd look.

"Oh, right," she said, feigning understanding. In reality she was disappointed; she thought that maybe he was finally asking her out.

"Maybe going for coffee or go shopping or… something," he said, rocking back and forth on his heels. She looked up at him, unable to help the small smile forming on her face.

"Sounds good, let me grab my jacket," she responded, accidentally sounding unenthusiastic. She was trying to compensate for how ecstatic she was. As she walked away, she noticed his grin falter slightly, and the doctor couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Why was she trying to hide her excitement?

A few moments later the pair reached the elevator, Barry jogging ahead to hit the button before she could reach the door. They walked inside.

"So… where do you wanna go first?" he asked excitedly.

"Um… I don't really care," she said, unsure. His grin faded again, and she hastily added, "I mean, I don't know. Not that I don't care; I'm really glad you asked me out and… stuff."

The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments, Barry confused and Caitlin uncomfortable.

 _Is it too late to correct myself? Ugh, probably is. He's gonna think I misinterpreted the entire thing and-_

"I'm glad you said yes," he said, turning and smiling as the elevator doors dinged open again. Caitlin smiled back and they walked outside.

"Want to go to Jitters' first?" he asked.

"Sure, my car is-"

 _*fwoosh*_

Caitlin yelped as Barry's arms were suddenly around her. She felt motion-sick as he carried her through the streets of Central City at high speed. After a few moments, they were in an alley a few blocks away from the coffee shop. Caitlin stumbled as he set her down, nearly running into a wall.

"Oh god," she said, holding her head in her hands as she tried not to vomit.

"Agh, sorry!" Barry exclaimed, rushing over to her and holding her steady so she stopped spinning. "I got carried away, I should've asked you, and I shouldn't have just grabbed you and run I'm so sorry let me get you some aspirin or… wait do you take aspirin for motion-sickness? No, that's like… wait no I have no idea I-"

"Barry, it's fine," she said, a small smile on her face. She had gotten over the dizziness for the most part. "I would appreciate a bit of warning next time."

"Will do," he said, offering his hand to help her stand up. She gladly accepted.

The duo walked out of the alley, admiring the beauty of the season around them. Kids ran through the streets wearing silly Santa and elf hats, some with jingling bells sewed onto them; families walked together, smiling and laughing and hugging; happy couples strolled around, hands permanently intertwined. Caitlin smiled. This was wonderful.

Barry began swinging his arm back and forth. Caitlin normally wouldn't have noticed something like this, but she came to the realization that the two of them had been holding hands ever since he helped her up a few blocks prior. She panicked for a few moments.

 _Do I let go? Does he even notice that we're still holding hands? If he doesn't, that'll just make it awkward, right? Plus, his hand is really nice and warm…_

She didn't let go.

They reached Jitters, Barry holding the door open like a proper gentleman. She was glad that his hand was still firmly wrapped around hers. It was unspoken, but at this point both of them were fully aware of their intertwined fingers, and they were perfectly content with it.

"Hello, how can I help you today?" the woman at the counter asked, face cheery and eyes weary. She had evidently been working a long shift.

"Two tall hot cocoa's with extra sugar please," Barry said, holding up 2 fingers with his unoccupied hand. Caitlin gave him an inquisitive look.

"Why do you assume I'd want hot chocolate?" she asked.

"It's Christmas!" he exclaimed cheerily. The barista chuckled as he handed her money. Caitlin rolled her eyes.

 _He's such a dork… such a loveable dork…_

The pair sat down at a table, waiting for their hot cocoa. Barry rested their joint hands on the table, using his other hand to play with her fingers. She giggled.

"Thanks, Barry," she said, adding her other hand atop his. Barry cocked his head to the side, smiling inquisitively.

"For what?"

"Getting me out of that lab," she said, and he grinned even wider.

"Thanks for agreeing to come. I was worried you would say no," he said.

"Well, I mean you didn't really give me a choice," she said jokingly. "I would have said yes if you'd asked though."

"Good to know," he replied with a chuckle.

"And a pair of tall hot cocoa's with extra sugars for the happy couple," the barista said, bringing them their orders. Their hands immediately separated and their eyes went wide.

"Oh we're not-"

"We're just-"

"This isn't like-"

"You're mistaken-"

The worker chuckled as she walked away from the pair, both of whom were still babbling incoherent defenses at the same time. After a few moments they stopped, resting their hands in their laps awkwardly. They avoided each other's eyes.

"Pretty good hot cocoa," Barry commented after a bit, taking a sip of his beverage. Caitlin tentatively took a drink for herself, shuddering happily as she felt the warmth course through her veins. She hadn't realized she was cold until Barry had let go of her hands.

"Quite," she said, trying to be nonchalant as she put it back down on the table.

 _Thanks a lot barista lady… way to kill the mood._

"Hey, Caitlin," Barry said, resting his elbows on the table and putting his hands near her hot cocoa.

"Hey, Barry," she responded teasingly, mimicking his position. Her fingertips danced atop his as she cocked her head to the side.

"Do you wanna go out?" he asked. Her expression morphed into one of confusion.

"Uh… we're already out," she responded, entirely oblivious to what he meant. He blushed, looking down.

"I mean um… you said if I'd asked, you would say yes and uh… I thought you meant…" The penny dropped and Caitlin' eyes widened.

"Oh," she said, fingers (quite ironically considering her powers) freezing atop his.

"Sorry," he mumbled, retracting his hands. Before he fully could, she locked their fingers together. He looked up at her nervously.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked, a smile gracing her features.

"I um… I thought I made you uncomfortable," he admitted, hands still stiff. She played with his fingers.

"No, you didn't," she assured him. There were a few moments of silence. Caitlin's heartbeat increased.

"Well… uh… I guess we should probably be getting back to STAR labs," he said disappointedly, glancing at the watch on his wrist.

"Yes," Caitlin said.

"Yeah… so could you… maybe let go?" he asked awkwardly.

"No, Barry, _yes_ ," she emphasized, and his eyes widened.

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Barry sat there, looking awestruck for a few moments before the smile rushed back onto his face.

"This is gonna be a great Christmas," he said, getting a giggle out of Caitlin. He wasn't wrong.


	2. Day 2 - Presents

**Day 2 – Presents**

 _Cisco, don't tell Caitlin what to get me for Christmas_

 _Cisco, don't tell Barry what to get me for Christmas_

Cisco squinted in confusion at his phone screen. He'd gotten the two texts at almost exactly the same time; that particular time being 12:46 PM.

He groaned as he processed the information. Now that his best friends were a couple, he had to deal with their romantic antics.

 _More like Rome-Antics amirite?_

Cisco giggled as he thought of that pun. He was proud of himself; maybe a little too proud…

Regardless, he was confused at the two conflicting requests he had gotten from them.

 _?_

 _?_

He sent both of them question marks. He was curious if they would keep up the whole "identical texts at identical times" thing.

 _Just don't!_

 _Just don't!_

He laughed. They were so adorable it was almost sickening. Well, now that he thought of it maybe it was just a little bit sickening.

* * *

"Did you just text Cisco to ask for help with presents?" Caitlin asked, crossing her arms.

"No, I just told him not to help you," Barry retorted with a smug grin.

"That's what I just did," she said, face-palming.

"Oh come on, not fair!" he exclaimed.

"You literally just did the same exact thing," she commented dryly. A few moments passed.

"Come on, Cait, one hint," Barry pleaded, holding his hands together in a begging fashion and doing his best to give her puppy-dog eyes. Caitlin narrowed her eyes, but in reality was doing her best to fight the urge to hug him. His puppy-dog eyes were irresistible.

"No," she said, trying to be stern. If he wasn't going to give her a clue, she wasn't going to give him one.

Christmas was fast approaching, and the newfound couple still hadn't gotten gifts for each other. To make it worse, both refused to tell the other what they wanted.

"Come on, I'll um… I'll watch those nature documentaries you love so much!" he exclaimed, smiling hopefully. Caitlin raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked, crossing her arms. "No complaining?"

"None whatsoever," he promised.

"Just for a hint?"

"Just for a hint," he repeated, grinning. Caitlin pondered the implications of Barry's deal. Two and a half hours watching the wonders of nature cuddled up with Barry? All just for a _hint_ at what she might want for Christmas?

"Deal."

15 minutes and Barry was regretting his offer. He wondered how in the world Caitlin watched this stuff; two and a half hours on the breeding cycles of penguins? Good grief.

He nervously tapped his foot. He had serious ADHD tendencies, and he wasn't sure if he was going to last another two hours. The hero's eyes darted around the room; he had to focus on something. He first checked the clock, which read 1:14 PM. Next he examined her movie shelf. More nature documentaries, dear Lord, why?

After more darting back and forth between random objects, he looked at her face. He smiled. She was so beautiful. The way her eyes slowly scanned the screen, taking in all of the information, the way she would blink rapidly after looking too hard for too long, the way her perfect lips were upturned in the smallest smile; it was all perfect. She was perfect.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all…

"What?" Caitlin asked, giving Barry an inquisitive look.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You were staring at me," she explained, turning her entire body and facing him. His cheeks were tinted pink; he had totally zoned out looking at her.

"I… um… I wasn't…" he stuttered, trying to think of a response.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, expression turning concerned.

"No, not at all, I was just… uh… looking… at you…" he said, eyes not meeting hers. There were a few moments of silence.

"Why?" she asked, now confused. Barry gulped. Might as well fess up.

"'cause you're really pretty," he mumbled, feeling awkward. He risked a glance at his girlfriend. She was smiling. "I… uh…" he was interrupted by her soft lips landing on his. She pulled away too quickly for his liking.

"I really love crossword puzzles," she said with a smile, only a few inches from his face.

"What?" he asked, still dazed from their kiss.

"That was your hint," she stated, pulling back and grabbing the remote to turn off the TV.

"But… we didn't… finish the thing," he said.

"That's fine. There's something else I'd much rather be doing," she said, dropping the remote and cuddling up next to him on the couch. She took hold of his face and began kissing him. He smiled on her lips, returning the gesture.

And then, in a few seconds, she stopped, getting a small whine out of him.

"Wha… why?" he asked, desperately missing her touch. She smirked.

"What do you want for Christmas, Barry?" Caitlin asked. Barry's eyes widened.

"That's not fair," he complained, looking distraught.

"Just one hint and we can stop talking," she said in an airy, flirty voice.

"I… um… I don't know what I want," he admitted nervously. He had bluffed earlier in an attempt to find out what she wanted; he had no idea what he wanted for Christmas. He'd been so busy running around the city trying to be a superhero that he hadn't stopped to think about what he might want.

"Well, that's too bad," she said, standing up abruptly from the couch. She stretched and yawned. "I should probably get home," she said, a teasing smirk playing on her lips.

"Caitlin, really, I don't know," he pleaded, standing up next to her and using the puppy-dog eyes again. She bit her lip, still trying to look confident. She couldn't lose her grip here. She had control of the situation. Oh, but he was so cute…

"Sorry, I guess I should get home then," she teased, grabbing her coat off of the couch.

"Please," he begged. He didn't want her to leave.

"Just one hint, Barry," she said, the same lilt in her voice.

"I like the color red," he said quickly. Caitlin paused, giving him a bemused look.

"I could've told you that much," she responded.

"You asked for a hint. That's the hint," he said, biting his lip.

 _Please let this work_.

"Fair enough," she said, dropping her coat and sitting back down on the couch next to him. He scooted next to her and was leaning in for a kiss when she grabbed the remote and turned the documentary back on. He stopped confusedly, hearing the deep voice of the boring narrator continue his monologue on penguins.

"But…"

"You said we needed to finish watching the documentary," she said with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to protest, but then saw her face. He sighed contentedly. Yes, she was teasing him, but at least he got to admire her pretty face for a little while longer.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Caitlin," Barry said, handing Caitlin a fairly large cardboard box. She smiled, pecking him on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Barry," she responded. The two sat down on her couch as she tore open her present. Caitlin's eyes widened as she saw an entire box filled with various crossword puzzle books of various shapes and sizes. She was going to be filling those out for months, maybe even _years_ to come. "I have a gift for you too," she said, standing up and dashing out of the room. He sat there contentedly. She'd looked so happy when she opened up the box.

After a few moments, Barry heard footsteps and then saw Caitlin. She held a small, red object in her hands, but Barry noticed something else. Her lips had gone from their typical, natural light pink to a new bright red shade.

She sat down on the couch next to him smiling innocently.

"I know we've only been dating a few months now, but I figure you've gotten sick of staying over at Cisco's, so…" she trailed off, holding the object out in her hand. Barry's eyes widened as he realized what it was.

It was a bright red key (the same color as her lips) with a small lightning bolt engraved on it.

"Oh… oh wow… okay," Barry stuttered, trying to fully grasp the situation. Was she asking him to move in?

"Sorry," she muttered, biting her lip and closing her palm. "I knew it was too fast, I shouldn't have…"

"No, Caitlin, not at all. Thank you. I love it," he said, interlacing their fingers and taking the key. He examined it and chuckled. It was gorgeous; intricately crafted. The golden bolt gleamed in the dim light emanating from the lights of their Christmas tree.

"Well… that's only half of it," she said, grinning. Barry smiled as they leaned in.

* * *

"So… you guys are moving in together, then?" Cisco asked, trying not to laugh as Barry sped around his apartment in an attempt to gather his sparse possessions. He was wondering how long it would take his friend to notice.

"Yeah!" the speedster exclaimed excitedly as he stopped running. "Thanks again for letting me stay so long."

"Yeah, no problem," Cisco responded, chuckling.

"What?"

"Well, uh, I assume _that_ was the other part of your gift," he said, gesturing to Barry's face. Barry gave him an odd look, before looking at the conveniently-placed mirror on the wall. His eyes widened and his expression turned mortified. There were red marks all over his face in the shape of Caitlin's lips, and his lips had turned an unnatural bright red.

"Um… y'know… I mean… It's kinda…" Barry mumbled, trying in vain to wipe his face off. Cisco laughed hysterically.

"I guess Caitlin figured out what you wanted for Christmas."


	3. Day 3 - Snowball-Fight

**Day 3 – Snowball-Fight**

Caitlin couldn't remember what they were yelling about anymore. She and Barry almost never fought. Of course, they had their arguments, but they always tried to remain respectful and level-headed. Most of the time they succeeded.

This was different, though. They were both shouting at the top of their lungs, interrupting each other and gesturing wildly. Barry's voice had gone into its upper register, and his face was red. Caitlin's fists were clenched so hard that her fingernails drew blood from her palms, and she spoke more deliberately and slowly than usual.

"God, I don't understand what your problem is, Cait!" Barry was telling the truth. Granted, he didn't really know what his problem was either. He was just too angry to think clearly.

"My problem is that you don't listen to me!" She was lying to him and herself. Barry was one of the most thoughtful, considerate people she'd ever met.

"I'm _trying_ , but you refuse to say anything that makes sense!" he snapped, slamming his fist on the table. Caitlin's eyes narrowed, and she stood there, glaring angrily. Barry glared back, but on the inside he was trembling. He'd overstepped a line, and it was too late to go back.

"Get out," she said in a stern, quiet, angry tone.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"Get out!" she practically screamed, swiping a flower vase off of the table. Barry was too stunned to grab it before it hit the ground. The glass shattered, water spilling and roses scattering everywhere.

There was a moment of silence. A few tears dripped down Barry's face. He exhaled heavily, not looking at her, turning and walking out of the kitchen. Caitlin bit her lip, refusing to break down in front of him. She opened her mouth to say something as he walked out the door, but nothing came out. Both her mouth and the door shut quietly.

She didn't know what to do. Had they just broken up? Was that the end of them? Caitlin sluggishly sat down in one of their dining room chairs, sighing heavily. No tears came, surprisingly, but she wished she could cry. The chemical release of sobbing her eyes out would have been a relief at that point. But she just sat there, watching the water spread across the floor bit-by-bit, with tiny shards of glass and rose petals flowing along with it. She already missed him.

* * *

Barry, on the other hand, was not as emotionally collected. The second he stepped outside, tears began pouring down his face. He couldn't even work up the energy to run away. He rested his back on the door and slid down it, pulling his knees close to his chest and sobbing. He didn't care that Caitlin could probably hear him. He didn't care that anyone passing by their house would definitely be shooting him odd looks. He didn't care that he'd forgotten his jacket and there was a snowstorm going. He just needed to cry. He needed this.

"Barry?" Barry was startled by Cisco's voice. He looked up, sniffling and wiping his eyes off, seeing his long-haired friend standing in front of him with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh *sniff* hey Cisco," he responded weakly, standing up slowly.

"Are you… alright, man?" Cisco asked.

"Not really. What's that?" Barry asked, trying to change the subject. Cisco was holding a strange, gun-looking contraption in his hands.

"Oh, this? I dunno, it's uh… not really important…" he said, scratching the back of his neck and looking down at his invention. Barry wiped his eyes again.

"I could use a distraction right now," the speedster responded. Cisco shrugged, holding the device up.

"It's a super snowball launcher," he said sheepishly, looking a little uncomfortable. Clearly he was hoping to catch his friend in a better mood. He definitely should have called ahead.

"Wait, really?" Barry asked, perking up slightly. Despite his puffy eyes and red face, he looked visibly excited. His inner child couldn't help it; it was a _super snowball launcher_.

"Yeah, you just drop a handful a snow in," Cisco responded proudly, grabbing a scoop off of the porch railing, "and then it makes it into a perfect sphere. And then you pull the trigger."

"Oomph!" Barry said, receiving a cold, spherical object to the stomach at a high velocity. Cisco grinned widely.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think," Barry started, grabbing a handful of snow. Cisco's eyes widened. "That you should start running."

* * *

After 10 minutes, Caitlin still couldn't bring herself to clean up the mess she'd made. While she'd gotten the roses a new jar (she valued plant life, and they were a gift from Barry), she still hadn't mopped up the water and glass.

"Ugh," she muttered, putting her head in her hands. She wanted to call Barry and beg him to come home and to forgive her and hold her. Unfortunately, his phone was on the counter. At this point, he could be almost anywhere. With his running speed, he could be in another country by now.

"Ah!" she was startled by a scream from outside. She pulled her blinds apart, looking out the kitchen window from her seat. Through the snowfall, she could see Barry and Cisco trudging around in the snowy yard, laughing hysterically and chucking projectiles at each other. She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. Barry looked adorable, tripping and clumsily chucking snowballs at his best guy friend. He looked so happy. Caitlin stood up, scanning the room for her coat and boots…

* * *

"How are you not cold?" Cisco exclaimed from behind a tree. He dared to peek out from behind his hiding spot and received a snowball to the face. He spit it out, laughing as he grabbed some of the residue and stuffed it into his gun.

"How are you losing so badly?" Barry retorted with a cocky grin, hiding behind a wall of snow he'd constructed for himself. He didn't want to cheat and use his powers too much, but at the same time, Cisco had a _super snowball launcher_ for goodness' sake. He thought that using his powers to build a snow fort and craft snowballs super quickly kind of leveled the playing ground.

The hero crafted yet another snowball, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. With his powers, he had all the time in the world to shape it into a perfect sphere. Forget Cisco's machine; _he_ was the super snowball launcher.

Before he could continue basking in his own personal snowball-related glory, he felt a sudden coldness in his hair. He looked around frantically; he'd been attacked with a snowball, but how? Cisco was still hiding behind his tree. He caught sight of Caitlin's brown curls peaking over her own personal ice fort. He smiled.

 _Wanna play like that?_ he thought, building up the side of his wall that left him exposed to her. He used his powers, forming a surplus of 15 snowballs, before chucking them all at high speed towards Caitlin's ice castle. The short walls began cracking.

"Ah!" he heard, seeing Caitlin run away from her fort towards the same tree Cisco was hiding behind. Barry laughed as Cisco pelted her with snowballs. She fell to the ground giggling like a maniac as she wiped the snow off of her face. Barry took the opportunity to sneak to the other side of the tree, as Cisco was quite distracted with Caitlin.

He shoved a good chunk of snow down the back of Cisco's shirt.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" the engineer yelled, dropping his weapon and running around in circles. He patted his back frantically, trying desperately to warm up. Barry began laughing, not noticing his girlfriend sneaking towards the gun that Cisco had dropped. By the time the speedster stopped his cackles, he was barraged by Caitlin who held the super snowball launcher.

This meant war.

Barry ran at her, grinning widely before tackling her into the white fluff. Both laughed hysterically, rolling around on top of each other and shoving the snow all over each other's faces and bodies. The two could not be happier.

They grew tired, Barry giving in as Caitlin rolled on top of him. They both smiled, faces inches apart. They sat there like that for a while, her arms wrapped protectively around him, and his hands slowly making their way to her face. The two began leaning in.

"Ah!" Caitlin yelped, being knocked off of Barry by a high-velocity snowball. Barry laughed, quickly building a wall of snow to protect them from Cisco, who had evidently gotten his gun back.

"This is war!" Cisco exclaimed from his tree a few yards away. "There's no making out in war!" The happy couple laughed, both crouching behind Barry's wall. Caitlin held her hands up to it, reinforcing it with a layer of ice to protect from Cisco's barrage. The two were close enough to kiss again.

"You flank left and I'll flank right?" Barry asked, holding up a snowball and grinning mischievously. Caitlin held her hand up, producing a snowball using her powers.

"Let's do this."

* * *

"I think I'm gonna head out, guys," Cisco said, yawning. Their snow war had been one of legend, spanning over several hours. Notable events included Barry's betrayal of Caitlin, Cisco's ambush on Castle Snow, Caitlin's frosty kiss of destruction, and many other battles and skirmishes. There were so many that they'd forgotten the silly names they'd made up for all of them.

Regardless, the three friends sat around the fireplace in Barry and Caitlin's house, sipping hot cocoa and warming up.

"Thank you for this," Barry said, smiling at Cisco. Without him, the couple probably would have spent the day moping and/or crying.

"No problem! See you guys when I see you!" he said, waving as he walked out the door. Barry and Caitlin sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the fire. She scooted next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her protectively.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I am too," he responded, turning and softly kissing her on the forehead. She looked up at him, smiling. That was all that needed to be said.

"I love you," he said, rubbing circles on her side with his thumb.

"I love you," she responded, removing her hands from the blanket that was draped over the two of them and planting them on his face. She pulled him in for a kiss, and he gladly returned the gesture.


	4. Day 4 - Best Kept Under Wrapping Paper

**Day 4 – Best Kept Under Wrapping Paper**

"Merry Christmas!" Iris exclaimed, hugging Caitlin and Cisco as they entered the West residence. They both echoed the sentiment as they stepped inside, Cisco practically hopping up and down with excitement. The prospect of a joint Team Arrow and Team Flash Christmas party made him giddy. Caitlin was quite excited as well, but for other reasons.

Her excitement manifested itself in the cute, brown-haired, twenty-something, red-clad super speedster sitting on the couch sipping Grandma Esther's world-renowned eggnog. She wanted so badly to jump into his arms and begin kissing him, but not yet. They were keeping their relationship under wraps for the time being.

Barry laughed as Curtis finished telling the story of his most recent antics with his husband. Curtis was like a male Felicity, and Barry couldn't be happier to have met him, and all the new recruits for that matter. Rene seemed a bit rough around the edges, but he was nice enough. Evelyn was pretty sharp (pardon the pun), and was very mature considering her age. Rory was just a really cool, all-around pleasant guy who could jump from cracking wise one moment to delving into a deep, thoughtful discussion the next. Barry was overjoyed that their collective dysfunctional family had added a few more members.

The speedster scanned the room, grinning as he saw the pure joy all of these "family members" were sharing. Cisco had finally arrived, taking his proper place in between Felicity and Curtis; the three of them began predictably discussing geeky and nerdy things. Evelyn, Dig, Joe, and Rene sat around the kitchen table, all trying to keep their poker faces straight as they played cards. Rory, Thea, and Wally stood near them, seeming to be in a deep discussion about something. Barry couldn't help but notice Wally shooting glances at one Jesse Wells, who was laughing hysterically at her father and H.R. arguing about something. It was rather amusing to see two versions of Harrison verbally sparring. Oliver took a seat next to Barry.

"Well, I was a bit hesitant when you suggested this but… it looks like everyone is really enjoying themselves," the archer commented, smiling at his longtime friend. Barry smiled back, taking another sip of the delicious beverage.

"I'm glad you guys came. I like the new recruits," he responded. "Not sure if I ever found out what their deals were though."

"Well, if by deals you mean skillsets, then Curtis is an Olympic athlete, Evelyn is a solid archer, and Rene is a heavy hitter and a good shot," he explained. Barry raised an eyebrow.

"And Rory?" he asked. Oliver chuckled.

"He has some… ancient, magical rags," he explained, turning to look at his friend. Barry looked incredibly confused. "Yeah, it's as weird as it sounds. But he's basically indestructible, so that's a plus."

"Sounds like it," Barry agreed. Oliver took a gulp from his own chosen beverage, a beer. Barry looked at him incredulously.

"A beer? Seriously? It's Christmas, dude," he teased. Oliver shrugged. Barry was about to insist his friend try the eggnog when something much more important caught his eye. _Someone_ much more important.

There, in all her fluffy-haired brown-eyed glory stood Caitlin Snow, wearing a hideously adorable red Christmas sweater dotted with snowflakes and blue jeans. Barry gulped, his mouth slightly agape. He quickly did his best to regain composure. He had to be especially careful around Oliver; he was a very observant person. If someone was going to figure out their secret, it would be him.

"Excuse me," Barry said, setting down his drink. Oliver acknowledged him, diverting his attention to the roaring fire. The speedster stood up and walked as casually as he could over to Caitlin.

"Merry Christmas," she said with a wide smile.

"Merry Christmas," he responded, wanting desperately to hug her. Unfortunately, she was holding a large dish of sweet potato casserole, so a hug would be quite an awkward ordeal. "Here, let's take that to the kitchen," he said, a lilt of mischief in his voice as he took the dish from his secret girlfriend. She blushed slightly, hoping that nobody would notice as she followed him out of the room.

Barry set the food on the counter, looking around to make sure they were truly alone. Once he was sure, he turned back to Caitlin.

"Hey," he said, smiling awkwardly.

"Hey," she responded, equally as awkward. The two stood there in silence for a few painful moments. They were still trying to work out that whole "being in a relationship" thing. Sure, they'd both been romantically involved with people before, but it was such a new thing for the two of them to be with each other.

Barry opened his mouth to ask something along the line of "so can we kiss now?" but he was interrupted. Two chilly arms wrapped around his neck and he was pulled in for a kiss. He smiled against Caitlin's lips, softly running his hands through her untamable curls. She pulled him closer still. Sadly, even meta-humans needed air, and the two of them separated after around 15 seconds.

"Oh my goodness I wanted to do that sooner," he whispered breathily, pulling away.

"I wish you had," she responded, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "But secrets are secrets."

"Yeah," he said wistfully. Both of them secretly regretted agreeing to keep their relationship a secret. It would be so much easier to just tell everyone. Then they could do the simple things; holding hands, having their arms around each other, little kisses and unnecessary touches and the like, without any problem or question. On the other hand, there was something exciting about a secret relationship. It was intense, fun, and adrenaline-inducing.

"We should probably rejoin the masses," she said, looking somewhat disappointed. Barry grinned.

"I don't know, Doctor Snow, maybe we should keep an eye on your casserole for a bit longer," he teased, leaning in for another kiss. She smiled, kissing back but quickly pulling away.

"Later, Mr. Allen," she retaliated, a playful smile on her lips as she went back to the living room. Barry sighed. This was going to be a difficult night.

* * *

"So, are you and Iris a sealed deal yet?" Felicity interrogated eagerly, scooting next to Barry on the couch. He rolled his eyes.

"No. We've both moved on," he explained, chuckling. It almost seemed ridiculous that there had been so much romantic tension between the two of them for so long. Their love was a platonic one; nothing more, nothing less.

"Moved on, you say?" Felicity asked further, eyes and smile widening. Barry panicked. He should have worded that differently.

"Moved on from those feelings, I mean," he added. He was surprised that he managed to explain that so clearly; usually in high-pressure situations he had a tendency to begin rambling in a fashion similar to the blonde he was conversing with. "How about you and Ollie? I thought I heard something about engagement." As soon as he saw Felicity's face he regretted his question.

"Nope, not uh… no not engaged," she mumbled, backing away from Barry.

"Sorry," he said meekly.

"It's fine," she responded, managing a smile. "We've both moved on too." Barry mentally patted himself on the back; he'd pretty effectively weaseled his way out of that line of interrogation.

* * *

"So how exactly do the rags work?" Caitlin asked. She was absolutely fascinated by Rory's abilities.

"They're just kind of an extension of my mind. It's like having a bunch of extra arms," he explained, gesturing to emphasize his point. She nodded, considering the implications. "Pretty useful for doing dishes and cleaning my house," he joked.

"I bet the ladies are pretty fond of that," Cisco cracked, getting a grin out of Rory and an eye-roll out of Caitlin.

"I'm actually single," the ragman replied.

"Ah," Cisco replied, taking a gulp of his beverage. A few moments of silence passed.

"Are you two dating?" Rory asked, making Cisco gag and Caitlin's eyes widen.

"Uh, no!" they both responded.

"She's like my nagging older sister! And she's not my type," Cisco said. She glared at him.

"Yeah, and I'm-" she caught herself. She was about to say she was in a relationship. It was a knee-jerk response and she regretted it immensely. Much like the time she accidentally kicked the doctor testing her knee with a mallet.

"You're…?" Rory asked in confusion.

"Terminally ill!" she exclaimed, getting attention from a few people surrounding them. Felicity turned around, looking at her friend with wide eyes. Curtis peeked his head in from the kitchen, where he and H.R. had been preparing more eggnog. Joe looked up concernedly from his hand of cards, unintentionally giving Rene an opportunity to sneak a peek at them. Barry met her eyes with an expression of worry. He knew she wasn't terminally ill, but he was worried she was about to spill their secret. "Terminally _sick_ , I mean, of dating people. I mean the last two people I dated both ended up dead, and one of them also turned out to be an evil supervillain who abducted me," she said, laughing nervously. Most everybody went back to what they were doing, but Cisco still looked at her oddly.

"Huh," Rory said, taking a huge gulp of his glass of homemade Schnapps' as he gave Caitlin a confused look.

* * *

Caitlin sat down on the couch next to Barry. He jumped slightly as he saw her.

"Oh, uh, hey," he said, trying to sound disinterested.

"We don't have to act like we're not even _friends_ , Barry," she said, poking him playfully. He smiled.

"Sorry," he said. Caitlin's eyes widened.

"Look," she said, pointing towards the kitchen table. Right in front of it stood Wally and Jesse. They were a lot closer to each other than two friends really had any right to be. That's when Barry noticed the mistletoe over them. He smiled as they leaned in. He'd grown to see Wally as a sort of little brother, and he was happy for him. His smile faded as he saw Harry glaring from the table behind them. He and John had taken Rene and Joe's places in the card game. Barry gulped.

"West," he said coldly, standing up and walking towards the happy pair. Well, _formerly_ -happy pair.

"Now, now," H.R. said, standing up between Wally and, well, himself, technically speaking. "Let the kids have their fun."

"That is my _daughter_ ," Harry retaliated, venom dripping from his voice as he glared at his doppelganger.

"Well, technically speaking, she's my daughter too, and I don't mind," H.R. responded with a smile, spinning the drumstick that was ever-present in his hand. "Wallace is a fine young man for our daughter to be canoodling with." Laughter erupted in the room. Cisco was cackling, Curtis was choking on his bite of casserole, Caitlin and Barry snickered, heck, even Oliver couldn't help but chuckle.

" _Canoodling_ ," Felicity echoed in between laughs, clutching her stomach. H.R. looked around obliviously, smiling widely.

"She is not _our_ daughter, she is mine!" Harry insisted angrily. "And _canoodling_? What is wrong with you?" H.R. patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on, man, it's Christmas! Let's let them have a sumptuous time!" Everyone's laughter continued. H.R. Wells had quite the vocabulary, to say the least.

* * *

"Cait-I-think-this-might-not-be-a-good-idea," Barry managed to get out between kisses. Caitlin had mumbled some excuse about grabbing something from her car and Barry had offered to help. He expected for them to go to her car and exchange a few kisses, but the speedster had hardly shut the door to the West residence when his girlfriend jumped on him.

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled away. Barry bit his lip. She looked so cute with her innocent smile, big eyes, full red lips that seemed so appealing…

"I… uh…" he stuttered. Suddenly, the door opened, making the two of them jump apart. Barry fell off of the porch, landing in the snow.

"Oops," Thea said sheepishly. "Sorry, I was going to grab a bottle of Fireball from my car."

"It's fine," Barry said, coughing. He was fairly grateful for the soft snow he landed in. Caitlin gave him an apologetic look as Thea walked off the porch and offered him her hand. "Thanks." She smiled at him as she walked to her car to retrieve the aforementioned alcohol.

"Sorry," Caitlin said as sheepishly as Thea. He chuckled, pecking her on the lips before walking back inside. She sighed, following him. She missed his touch already.

* * *

 _*bzzt*_

Caitlin dug through her pocket and grabbed her phone. She looked in confusion at a text from Barry.

 _Bathroom now_

She blushed, standing up from the table. She wasn't sure if she was… ready for something like that.

"Take my spot?" she asked Evelyn, dropping her poker hand. The teenager smirked.

"Thanks," she responded, sitting down in Caitlin's previous seat. The doctor walked briskly to the bathroom and knocked.

"Anyone in there?" she asked nervously, already knowing the answer. When she got no response, she opened the door and walked in, seeing Barry looking in the mirror. "Barry… um… I'm not sure what you were suggesting but…"

"What? Oh. Uh, no not that, look," he said, pointing at his lips. She squinted, not seeing what was wrong.

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

"It's red! People might think I've been kissing someone!" he whispered in fear. Caitlin giggled.

"It's barely even noticeable," she assured him. "But it might be if…" she trailed off, leaning in and kissing him deeply. She threaded her hands through his hair, not caring if she messed it up a little bit. He eased into the kiss, this time putting his hands on her hips. A knock on the door frightened both of them to death.

"Anyone in there?" Jesse asked from the other side, much like Caitlin had asked a few moments previously. Unfortunately, both Barry and Caitlin had the same instinct.

"Yes," They said at the same time, eyes widening as they simultaneously clamped their hands over their own mouths. They looked at each other in fear.

"Okay," Jesse responded, footsteps trailing away. The couple breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Barry commented.

"Too close," Caitlin said, walking over to the mirror and readjusting her clothes and hair. Barry moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her and softly kissing her neck. She smiled, watching him in the mirror. "I think you've got a little bit of red on your lips," she teased, feeling him chuckle.

"And I think you've got a little bit of red on your neck."

* * *

The party went on much longer than intended, nobody leaving until somewhere around 1:30 AM. Felicity and Evelyn were the first to go, followed soon by Rene. At 2:15, Cisco and H.R. decided to bid the party adieu, and Thea and John left not long after. By 2:30, Harry insisted that he and Jesse get back to their earth. Wally was noticeably disappointed, but a few minutes after the father-daughter duo disappeared into a portal, Jesse reappeared, saying she'd decided to stay on Earth 1 for a little while. Curtis and Rory left a little before 3:00, leaving Oliver, Iris, Barry, Caitlin, Wally and Jesse still there. Joe had retired to his bedroom an hour or so earlier.

"I think I'm gonna crash here tonight," Iris said, yawning as she hugged Barry and wished everyone goodnight and merry Christmas.

"I should probably be getting back home," Oliver said, checking his watch.

"Do you need a lift?" the speedster asked. His friend nodded with a smile.

"Felicity was my ride."

 _*fwoosh*_

In under a minute, the two heroes stood in the Arrow Cave, Oliver looking ever-so-slightly unbalanced.

"I'm glad you could come," Barry said, offering a hug which his friend accepted.

"I'm glad you invited us," he responded with a smile, patting Barry on the back. They pulled apart.

"Bye Ollie," Barry said with a wave.

"Hey, Barry," Oliver said before he could run off.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck with Caitlin," he said with a sly grin. Barry's eyes widened. They'd slipped up too much. Maybe he'd seen them kissing outside the window. Maybe he'd seen them sneak off together one too many times. Heck, maybe he'd picked up on it the second Caitlin had arrived. He was Oliver Queen; nothing got by him.

"I... uh… what do you…" Barry stammered, cut off by Oliver patting his shoulder.

"You two are about as subtle as an arrow to the shoulder," he joked, walking past the speedster. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry… Christmas…" Barry replied sheepishly, before dashing back to the West household.

Caitlin sat at the table, absentmindedly shuffling cards as she watched the Christmas movie that was playing. She smiled as she saw Jesse and Wally snuggle up even closer on the couch. They were cute together. She yawned; it was late, the lights were out, and the house was quiet. The atmosphere alone was lulling her to sleep.

 _*fwoosh*_

She jumped as her boyfriend was in the seat next to her.

"Hello, Doctor Snow," he said, leaning over and pecking her on the lips.

"Hello, Mr. Allen," she responded tiredly, putting her hand atop his. "I think I should be getting home." Barry pouted, and she ran her thumb over the back of his hand. "I know, but I'm really tired."

"You could stay in the guest room here," he said. "Save you the trouble of driving, or me speeding you home."

"I could," she said with a smile, standing up and stretching. Barry stood up with her. "But I don't know, I might get lonely."

"Well, I can think of at least one person who would be willing to share that guest room with you," he said teasingly, taking her hand again as they began walking towards the stairwell. They tiptoed up it and through the hallway as to not awake either Iris or Joe.

"Hey Barry?" she asked as they reached the guestroom. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Both smiled, recalling that alcohol and karaoke-filled night so long ago.

"Would you mind if I stayed longer?" he countered, raising an eyebrow as she opened the door. She smiled.

"Not at all." She tugged him into the room and shut the door. The tired pair collapsed onto the bed, sliding clumsily under the covers together. Barry wrapped his arms around her protectively, and she buried her face in his neck. After a minute or two, both of them were peacefully snoring. Yes, Oliver knew their secret, and yes, Joe was going to find out tomorrow when he saw them like that, but they'd managed to keep it under wraps from everyone else in the party. At least, that was what their tired, alcohol-addled minds wanted them to think.


	5. Day 5 - Unwrapped

**Day 5 – Unwrapped**

"A beer? Seriously? It's Christmas, dude." Oliver shrugged. If a beer was good in the summer, it was good around Christmas. Before the archer could think of some witty retort, he noticed that Barry wasn't paying him any attention anymore. Barry's eyes were fixated on one Doctor Caitlin Snow. The instant Barry saw her, his eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape. Oliver pretended not to notice. He would wait until later to confront his friend about it, but it was incredibly clear that Barry had feelings.

Oliver further observed him, chuckling when he saw both he and Caitlin stand there awkwardly for a few moments. He watched Caitlin closely, noting her body language, and figured that she clearly had feelings for him as well. But they didn't show any obvious signs of affection. Why was that?

"Here, let's take that to the kitchen," Barry said, Oliver chuckled to himself quietly. It all made sense now. The two of them were dating, but they wanted to keep it a secret. How cute.

He took another sip, seeing the pair disappear into the kitchen. He rolled his eyes. It was pretty obvious what they were going to be doing in there.

"What're you giggling at?" Cisco asked as he plopped down on the couch next to Oliver, having exited his conversation with Felicity and Curtis.

"I'm not giggling," he retorted. "I'm observing."

"Observing what?" Cisco asked curiously.

"Ask Barry and Caitlin," he responded dryly, taking another drink. Cisco looked even more confused. "They're in the kitchen." The engineer stood up and made his way there. Oliver chuckled. Boy was he going to get a surprise.

* * *

"They were _what_?" Felicity whispered-yelled, her eyes wide. Cisco looked mortified. He had walked in on his best friends "sucking face," as he so eloquently put it.

"I want to wash my eyes out with bleach, agh," he said, rubbing his eyes vigorously. Felicity squeaked.

"That's adorable!" she exclaimed, shoving him playfully. He looked at her, baffled.

"Are you kidding me? Oh my goodness they're like… my brother and sister! Who in their right mind wants to see their brother and sister making out?" he asked incredulously. Felicity rolled her eyes. "It's so wrong in so many ways!"

"Be happy for them," she said, shoving him again and laughing. That would explain a lot. Barry and Caitlin were acting awfully awkward and quiet that evening. Evidently, they weren't the best at keeping secrets. "When they're done making out, I'm gonna see if I can get him to admit that they're dating."

* * *

"Is Caitlin okay?" Rory asked, a mix of worry and concern on his features.

"What do you mean?" Thea questioned.

"Well I mean, a bit ago she was shouting about how terminally ill she is."

"Oh. Yeah, I have no idea," she responded, shrugging. She didn't know Caitlin too well. "Maybe she's a little drunk?"

"Maybe…" Rory said, taking a sip of his homemade beverage. Before he and Thea could continue conversing, he saw a very peculiar sight outside the frosty window. He could roughly make out Caitlin's figure pressed up close against Barry's. Everything was clear now. "Or maybe she's trying to hide the fact that she has a boyfriend." Thea gave him an odd look.

"That's an awfully specific thought." Rory pointed to the window, and she turned to look. Her eyes widened.

"Oh."

"Yeah," he responded casually. "If they really want to keep their relationship a secret, they should be more careful," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm gonna go break up their little make-out session before anyone else notices," Thea said with a sly grin. Rory rolled his eyes.

"How kind of you."

* * *

"What's wrong?" Wally asked, seeing a shocked look on Jesse's face. She seemed to ponder his question for a moment, taking a seat next to him at the dinner table.

"Um… I think Barry and Caitlin are in the bathroom together," she said slowly and deliberately, as if she was still trying to believe it herself.

"Barry and that doctor girl? Score!" Rene called from the other side of the table, grinning and pumping his fist in the air. Jesse rolled her eyes.

"How do you know?" Wally asked, looking as shocked as Jesse.

"Well I knocked and asked if anyone was in there and both of them answered."

"Smooth," Dig muttered with a bemused grin, dealing hands to all the poker players at the table.

"Didn't think Barry would be the type to do it in the bathroom," Curtis commented. Evelyn snickered.

"I will have to congratulate them!" H.R. exclaimed gleefully, examining his new cards. Harry glared at him.

"Is your earth just an earth of no personal boundaries?" he asked his doppelganger bitterly. H.R. shrugged.

"If they want to canoodle in the bathroom-" snickers echoed throughout the room "-then I think we should be happy for them!"

"You are an imbecile," Harry said, putting his head in his hands. H.R. patted him on the back, still grinning widely.

"Perk up, my friend, it's Christmas!"

"We're not friends."

* * *

Joe West yawned, stretching out his limbs as the morning sun broke through his blinds. He smiled, remembering the party he'd hosted the night before and all the great memories he'd made. He loved being part of a big, dysfunctional family like that.

He put on his slippers before stepping out into the hallway. Iris' old bedroom door was wide open, indicating that she'd stayed the night, and that she'd already gotten up. He chuckled; no matter how late that girl went to sleep she was up bright and early the next morning, ready to work or do something productive. He was so proud of her. Before he reached the staircase, however, he noticed a peculiar sight. The guest room door was shut.

 _That's funny… I thought I left that open…_

He thought correctly; he believed that a guest room door should always be left open to seem welcoming and inviting to guests. It was simple politeness.

Joe walked over and opened the door. His eyes widened when he found that the room was occupied. He hadn't even considered that someone other than Iris or Barry might have stayed the night. The party had run pretty late after all. He was about to tiptoe away when he realized who exactly was lying in the bed. Barry lay there, his back to the door.

 _Weird. Why wouldn't he stay in his old room?_

Then he saw that Barry wasn't the only person lying in the bed. He saw Caitlin's face over Barry's shoulder and he covered his mouth as to not make a noise. This was not what he was expecting to wake up to.

Joe slowly backed out of the room, being careful not to step on any of those pesky squeaky floorboards. He really needed to get those fixed.

He continued backing up until he got out into the hall again, pulling the door shut quietly. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. Since when was Barry dating Caitlin? And how in the world had he not known about it? He was a detective, not to mention Barry's adoptive father. And Barry was a subtle as a gunshot. There was no way he could've missed this

The detective ambled down the stairs and into the kitchen, considering all of these facts as he sat down at the table. Iris walked in a few moments later, bringing him coffee in his favorite mug.

"Morning, dad," she said, planting a kiss on his forehead. He mumbled a 'thanks for the coffee,' staring off into space. "What's wrong?"

"I just… went into the guest room… and Barry and Caitlin were in there together…" he said slowly and confusedly, as if he couldn't believe it himself.

"Yeah, she decided to stay here because of how late it was," Iris responded nonchalantly. Her father looked at her in confusion.

" _Together_ , Iris," he emphasized. She nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh, yeah, dad, that's what people who are dating tend to do," she said teasingly.

"Wait, you knew they were dating?" he exclaimed. Iris held up a finger to her lips, signaling him to keep his voice down.

"You didn't?" she asked in confusion. He shook his head. "Wow, I thought everyone figured it out."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah, at the party last night. Cisco caught them making out in the kitchen when she got here, Thea and Rory saw them kissing on the front porch, and Jesse found out they were in the bathroom together." Joe's eyes somehow went wider. How had he not noticed this?

"And you didn't think to tell me any of this?" he asked incredulously. She shrugged.

"I thought it was obvious enough," she responded. "You're a detective after all." He began grumbling, taking a sip of his coffee as Iris laughed.

"Ugh, can you keep it down?" Wally called out from the couch. Joe rolled his eyes, making his way over to where his son lay.

"If you wanted peace and quiet, maybe you should have-" he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that, much like Barry, Wally wasn't sleeping alone. Jesse lay there, tangled in his arms. The detective's jaw dropped as he slowly walked back to the table and took a seat. Iris rolled her eyes, chuckling.

"Maybe you should reconsider your profession, _detective_."


	6. Day 6 - Sick Christmas

**Day 6 – Sick Christmas**

"Caitlin, come on," Barry pleaded, grasping at her fingers. She stumbled, slipping her hand out of his.

"I'm f-fine *cough*," she insisted, supporting herself on the countertop. Barry sighed. She was always so stubborn.

"Cait, you can barely walk," he said, standing up with her and supporting her by her hips. She attempted a smile, before coughing and gagging again.

"Christmas… p-party," she stuttered. They were going to miss the Christmas party. They never missed the Christmas party.

"I'm sure they'll be fine without us," he said, wrapping his arms around her lovingly. She sighed, falling back into his embrace.

"But… but…" She tried coming up with some sort of legitimate argument, but her mind was entirely clouded by the sickness. She shuddered, placing her hand over her mouth. Oh no.

She ran (ran may not be the correct word; it was more like a trip and a fall followed by grasping for the sink) for the sink, doing her best to hold back the oncoming sickness from coming out all over her floor. Barry sped after her, holding her hair back as she purged into the sink. He steadied her, whispering comforting words to her. She convulsed, feeling simultaneously disgusting and wonderful. It felt so nice to get all of the horribleness out of her body, but the method by which it left was absolutely terrible.

"Hey, you're okay," he said, rubbing circles on her back.

"Th-thank y-y-you," she stuttered, spitting and wiping her mouth off. Barry got her a napkin, wiping the excess sick off of her lips. "I n-need… *cough*… my toothb-b…" The second the word (or, rather, the portion of the word) left her mouth, a toothbrush and toothpaste was in front of her. Barry had sped into the bathroom and grabbed it for her. He turned the tap on, washing the sink out. He squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and placed it in her hand, helping her wrap her fingers around it. Caitlin sighed. She couldn't even hold a toothbrush properly. She felt so weak and helpless. She hated feeling like that so much.

"Anything else I can get you?" he asked tenderly, stroking her face.

"No," she said, glaring. She was illogically angry at him and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. He backed off, sensing her frustration.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything, babe," he said, smiling at her as he left the room. She sighed, hand trembling as she tried to hold it up to her mouth. She barely managed it. This was a serious flu. She was dizzy and burning and tired and sick and it was awful. She somehow even managed to stumble while standing straight up.

"Barry," she called weakly. He walked in.

"What do you need?" he asked eagerly.

"I… can't b-brush m-my…" she muttered, pouting. He gave her a sad smile, walking towards her and taking the toothbrush. She begrudgingly opened up her mouth like she was at the dentist's office, and he began softly scrubbing. She felt so embarrassed.

"There we go," he said with a smile after a minute or so, removing the brush and rinsing it in the sink. He held a glass of water up to her mouth and she gulped it down. "Do you feel any better?"

"No," she answered, still moping.

"You should probably lie down," he said, putting his hand on the small of her back and helping guide her to the living room. He helped her lie down on the couch, then sped away to get her a warm, fuzzy blanket.

"Thanks," she said, snuggling under the warmth, Barry kissed her softly on her forehead.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked, taking her hand and rubbing it.

"Some hot cocoa would…" she started, and he was gone again. She sighed. Why was she mad at him? He was being a perfect gentleman, serving her hand and foot. She had no right.

"Sorry it took so long," he said sheepishly, rushing back into the room with a large hot chocolate from Jitters in his hand. She smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she said, sitting up and taking the drink. She took a drink, sighing in satisfaction. He smiled, putting a pillow behind her back so she would be more comfortable.

"Should I leave you alone?" he asked. She bit her lip. She didn't want to keep him home while the annual Team Flash Christmas party was going on, but she wanted nothing more than to snuggle up on the couch with him.

"Go ahead to the party," she said, attempting to smile. He looked reluctant.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," she promised, squeezing his hand reassuringly. He smiled, leaning down and kissing her forehead again.

"If you need anything, please call me," he said. She nodded.

"Have fun."

"Be back in a flash," he promised, grinning. Caitlin giggled tiredly. In a blast of cold wind, he was gone. She sighed, setting the coffee mug on the table next to her. She yawned, lying down on the couch.

"He's such a dork," were the last words she said before dozing off.

* * *

Caitlin awoke, feeling groggy. She wondered how that was possible, because she could swear that she'd only shut her eyes a few seconds ago. She looked around in confusion, seeing a bright light emanating from the kitchen

She sat up slowly, the dizziness making her feel somewhat queasy.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Barry teased, walking over and pecking her on the cheek.

"Oh, look who's finally up!" Cisco, wearing his Santa hat, exclaimed excitedly. Caitlin looked at him in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked, sitting up straight.

"Well, since you couldn't come to the party, I decided to bring the party to you," Barry said with a smile. Her confused expression melted into one of pure joy. She smiled widely, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, pulling Barry down to her and embracing him. He hugged her back tightly.

"You feeling good enough to walk? Or should I tell them all to come in here?" he asked.

"I can walk," she said, slowly getting to her feet, Barry supporting her as she stood. She stretched and yawned, testing out her legs. She felt much better.

They walked into the kitchen, and Caitlin received a chorus of "hello's" from everyone there. H.R. spun his drumsticks. Harry sulked in a corner, glaring at Wally whose lap was occupied by Jesse. Joe and Iris sat together, sharing a cup of coffee. Cisco threw marshmallows into his mouth. All was right with the world.

* * *

"Barry?" Caitlin asked concernedly. He groaned, coughing and sniffling, rolling around in their bed.

"Sick," he said, nose stuffy. Caitlin's eyes widened.

"I thought you couldn't get sick," she said, walking over to him and feeling his forehead. He was burning up.

"Sick. Ver-y sick," he said, sneezing. Caitlin brushed some of his bedhead out of his eyes.

"We should get you to STAR Labs," she said concernedly, grabbing her jacket from the back of their door.

"Okay," he muttered, sitting up. He got onto his feet shakily, and immediately tripped and fell onto the floor face-first. Caitlin couldn't help but giggle as she crouched down next to him.

"I fell can't my face," he stuttered as he rolled over on his back.

"Maybe we should go to STAR Labs later," she said, helping him back up. He fell onto the bed, landing face first in the pillows. Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Don't smother yourself," she said, turning him over. He mumbled something incoherently. Caitlin moved his pillow under his head and kissed him on the cheek.

"Babe," he mumbled, waving his arms as she was about to step out the door.

"Yes?" he asked, smiling.

"Mur-Crimbles," he said, sounding as if he was drunk.

"Merry Christmas, love," she said, shutting the door quietly.


	7. Day 7 - 12 Years

**Day 7 – 12 Years**

The first Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together wasn't necessarily merry. The Man in Yellow, later named the Reverse Flash, had just attacked the team, only being stopped when Ronnie Raymond, Caitlin's supposedly-dead fiancé, stepped in and saved Barry's life. After the attack, the pair weren't really in the mood to celebrate. Barry was crippled by the fear of his nemesis; he wasn't fast enough, or strong enough, or good enough. He felt useless. Caitlin was so confused and conflicted. She'd finally begun to cope with Ronnie's death, and here he was, waltzing back into her life as the burning man, saving her friend's life.

Despite all the confusion, the two found solace in each other, becoming very close friends.

The second Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together wasn't necessarily spent together. They did see each other, but they did not spend much time together. Barry was so busy dealing with his feelings for Iris, and Caitlin had found her own romantic interest in the man who claimed to be Jay Garrick. It would be another year before the two even begun considering their feelings for each other.

The third Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was very much a messy conclusion from the previous one. Both had spent the past year in romantic confusion and conflict, Barry unable to receive the affection he so craved from Iris, and Caitlin being strung along and betrayed by Hunter Zolomon acting as Jay Garrick. Needless to say, it was not a good time.

The fourth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was one of discovery. The pair ended up together under the mistletoe. Despite their reticence to do anything, it was a Christmas tradition. Ironically, their kiss wasn't traditional. They got a little carried away in the moment, letting the fun mistletoe lip-locking turn into something much more intimate. They lingered on each other for longer than intended. Their hands somehow slipped together. It took an awkward cough from Cisco to break the two of them up. After the red-faced pair broke apart, they didn't talk for several days. Despite this interaction, their fourth Christmas sowed the seeds for their future relationship.

The fifth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was their first really spent _together_. Barry finally worked up the courage to ask her out, and she gladly accepted. They thought they would keep it under wraps for a while and try to be stealthy about it, but the two of them had the collective subtlety of a punch to the face and a kick to the shins. All of their friends and family found out very quickly. It didn't matter though. They were together, and they were happy.

The sixth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was the first time they said that they loved each other. It wasn't particularly cliché or romantic. They didn't say it underneath mistletoe, or in each other's arms, or during a particularly intimate moment. They sat the couch in the West family's house, watching TV. Barry turned to her and said:

"Y'know, I love you." She smiled at him.

"I love you too."

And that was that.

The seventh Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was spent together, in _their_ house. Caitlin had given Barry a key as a Christmas gift, much like Eddie had done for Iris so many years prior. Caitlin, however, had gotten her beloved a special key, styled to look like his superhero insignia. The beautiful red key with a lightning bolt made Barry happier than any other gift in his life had, and he moved in as fast as possible (which, for a man such as the Flash, was very fast).

The eighth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow spent together was peaceful. If it could be described in a song, it would be _Silent Night_. They took quiet walks through Central City, sipping hot cocoa and holding hands. They sat in their living room, watching the fireplace pop and crackle as they cuddled and kissed. They enjoyed the peace and quiet, in contrast to how they spent most of their days, saving Central City from a colorful cast of supervillains.

The ninth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow was when Barry finally popped the question. He figured it was appropriate; Christmastime was when they had their first kiss, when he asked her out, and was generally their favorite time of year. And they'd been dating for four years now, and he was sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He just hoped she'd be willing to do the same.

Unsurprisingly, she wanted more than anything to be his wife. She even went as far as to ask Iris if it would be weird to propose to him. She was so eager. Iris, knowing Barry's plans, very carefully dissuaded her from the idea.

Regardless, the second Barry opened the ring box, Caitlin said yes and threw herself upon him. She never even gave him the opportunity to ask, because he didn't need to. They wanted to be together forever, and they were going to be.

The tenth Christmas Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow (or rather, Caitlin Allen) was the first they spent as a married couple. They'd been married in January, Cisco as the best man and Iris as the maid of honor, and had spent the past year in absolute joy and ecstasy. It was one of the best years of their life.

The eleventh Christmas Barry and Caitlin Allen spent together was one spent reminiscing on past Christmases. Iris had made the pair a scrapbook of memories, most of the pictures being ones Iris had snapped of them in secret. Highlights included their first kiss under the mistletoe, Barry proposing, and the two of them moving boxes into their house. There were many laughs, many jokes, and many tears. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful feelings.

The twelfth Christmas Barry and Caitlin Allen spent together was a new beginning. Despite how prepared they thought they were, the married couple was not ready for what was coming. On December 11th, Nora Iris Allen entered the world into the loving arms of her parents. Even with all of the baby books they'd purchased, the research they'd done, and the advice they'd gotten, they were wholly overwhelmed by their beautiful baby girl.

The first few days of her life were nerve-wracking to say the least. Barry was constantly asking Joe if he was doing something wrong with her. Am I supposed to hold her by the arms? Will it hurt her? Should I leave her alone for a few minutes to run and grab some stuff from the store? Should I sleep or would that be too dangerous for her?

Caitlin on the other hand was very composed, if a little tired. Barry, the loving husband he was, did everything he could to make sure she didn't have to worry or work at all. She did worry though. Not for the baby, as Barry was taking perfect care of her, but for Barry. He was overworking himself. When he wasn't busy saving Central City from oncoming attacks, he was staying up half the night rocking his daughter to sleep, or changing her diapers, or making sure she had the correct food at the correct temperature at the correct time. As the days went on, he looked less and less chipper and more and more sleep-deprived and exhausted.

Caitlin finally confronted him about it two weeks after Nora was born.

"Barry?" she asked, seeing him carefully shut the door to their daughter's room. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.

"Hey," he said, voice weak and tired. She stroked his face, running her thumb along the bags under his eyes.

"How much have you slept in the last two days?" she asked concernedly. He shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe 2 hours?" he responded. Her eyes widened.

"Barry, go to bed," she said, urging him towards their bedroom.

"But she might wake up and then-"

"And then I will take care of her," she said, shoving him in the room. He turned around, looking at Caitlin with weary eyes.

"Cait, you don't need to do anything. I've got this."

"Barry. You haven't let me do any work the past 2 weeks. You look awful. Go to sleep," she said.

"Wow, thanks," he teased, pecking her on the cheek. She looked at him sternly, crossing her arms.

"Bartholomew Henry Allen," she threatened. "You will go to bed right now or so help me I will inject you with enough bull tranquilizer to put you out for a full day."

"But… Cait. Nora-"

"Has both a mother and a father who love each other very much," she said, smiling and rubbing his shoulders. He sighed, reluctantly walking towards the bed and lying down.

"Just for… a couple… hours," he said, snuggling under the blankets and sinking into the pillow. Caitlin smiled, walking over and giving him a peck on the forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Barry," she said, shutting the light off. She was confused when he didn't respond, but then she heard his soft snores. She smiled, closing the door and leaving the room.


	8. Day 8 - Mistletoe

**Day 8 – Mistletoe**

"Hey Caitlin," Barry said, giving her a hug. She returned the favor happily,

"Hey Barry," Caitlin said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he responded, pausing and staring at her. The two stood there silently, arms lingering. It wasn't awkward, but it was somewhat strange.

"Caitlin!" Iris exclaimed, breaking the pair apart and giving her friend a hug.

"Merry Christmas Iris!" she said, hugging her tightly. Barry coughed, walking away. That was an incredibly weird interaction.

Caitlin's eyes lingered on Barry over Iris' shoulder. Something felt different. It felt weird. Why had they lingered so long after the hug? Why were her eyes lingering on him, tracking his every movement and taking particular notice of all his little quirks and mannerisms? Most importantly, why was she thinking about this so much? This wasn't a big deal. They'd just hugged. They hugged all the time, like when he came back from successful missions, or when they were having a bad day, or when they saw each other at all… come to think of it, they hugged a lot? Why did they hug so much? They were friends... friends hugged a lot, right? Yeah, they totally do. Friends are supposed to hug a lot. Again, why was she thinking about this so much?

"Caitlin?" Iris asked in confusion. She had been standing there, looking thoughtful for a while. They had stopped hugging about 30 seconds prior.

"What?" she asked.

"You alright there?" she responded jokingly, waving her hand in front of Caitlin's face. The doctor chuckled nervously.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be okay?" she asked. Iris gave her an odd look, but nodded, walking away. Caitlin examined the room, trying to keep her mind off that strange train of thought she'd gotten wrapped up in.

Wally and Jesse were exchanging gifts at the kitchen table next to Iris. Joe and H.R. were having a discussion on the sofa, the former looking annoyed and the latter looking as excited as always. Cisco looked like he was about to pass out on the sofa, apparently having consumed one-too-many alcoholic beverages. Barry was nowhere to be found. She glared. If he had been there doing something normal, she would've been able to stop thinking about him. That was one of the things about herself that Caitlin hated; slight aberrations or odd occurrences or just anything in general out of the norm stuck in her mind and bothered her endlessly. If this whole Barry situation wasn't resolved tonight, it would be stuck in her head for the next two days. Stupid brain.

Barry, on the other hand, was not particularly bothered by their extended hug. Yes, it felt a bit odd to him, but whatever. That was probably just his classic Barry Allen awkwardness becoming active again. If he didn't have the super speed, super-awkwardness would've been his superpower.

"Oh." Barry jumped at the sound of Caitlin's voice. He was making himself some more hot cocoa. He turned around and saw her, smiling.

"Oh?" he asked, a lilt of teasing in his voice. She looked almost… embarrassed. Maybe she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Sorry, uh, I just wasn't sure where you were," she responded, placing her Christmas cookies on the countertop. He gave her an odd look.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"No, no, I just… didn't know… if you were here…" she muttered, sounding quite unconvinced with her own words. Barry's confused look became even more confused.

"Uh… we just hugged at the door," he said. She opened and shut her mouth a few times, looking somewhat like a fish out of water.

 _But a lot prettier_ a voice in Barry's head added.

 _Where did that come from?_ another voice asked. Great, now he was even more confused.

"Hard to forget," she muttered, a little bit louder than intended.

"What?" he asked. This was just one confusing statement after another. What was up with her tonight?

"Hard… to forget… that you were there," she said, again sounding very confused with her own words.

"So it was hard to forget…"

"Yes."

"And you forgot it…"

"Yes." There was a pause of contemplation from Barry.

"Glad we cleared that up," he said jokingly, chuckling. She laughed. Somehow, even in the most uncomfortable situations, Barry always managed to easily clear the air. He always joked about how awkward and bad he was with people, but he was really smooth and easygoing and pleasant to be around. She didn't know why he spent so much time being self-deprecating.

"Good hot cocoa?" she asked, watching him take a sip of it. He smiled.

"Yeah, it's delicious, you want some?" he asked, offering his Flash-themed mug to her. She took the beverage, rolling her eyes. "What?"

"Don't you think it's a little narcissistic to be using a mug with your own symbol on it?" she asked, blowing on the hot drink to cool it down before she took a sip. She so hated burning her tongue. The taste buds would be roasted for at least a day, and she wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the food she usually loved, and it would all just be rather bothersome.

"Well, maybe if I was dressed in my Flash costume, it would be," he said, a teasing grin gracing his features. Caitlin always thought his smile was very attractive. "But I'm mild-mannered Barry Allen," he said, gesturing to his clothes. She rolled her eyes again, before finally consuming the brown liquid in the aforementioned mug. As soon as it entered her mouth, she let out a satisfied "oh" and then proceeded to down the rest of the mug. Barry made a noise, but she paid him no attention. It was like drinking liquid perfection. It was the perfect texture, perfect consistency, perfect taste, perfect temperature… It was perfect. Barry Allen had made the perfect cup of hot cocoa.

"That was…" she said slowly, still astounded by how good it was.

"Mine," he grumbled, grabbing the supplies to make more.

"Oh my god," she said, slowly putting the mug down. Her eyes and mouth were wide. How was it so perfect? Barry continued grumbling. "How?"

"I dunno, I just kinda make it," he said nonchalantly, pouring some milk and chocolate powder into another mug. She was astounded at how easy he made it look. It was almost as if there was no method to what he was doing.

"Thanks, that's very descriptive," she said sarcastically. He chuckled.

"Honestly I don't know. It's just how I've always made it." Caitlin grumbled about wanting more before bringing her mug to the sink and setting it in there. Barry finished his second mug, making sure to keep it away from her as the two exited the kitchen.

"H-h-h *hic* he-y-y-y-y Caitlin," Cisco slurred, throwing his arms around her. She nearly fell backwards catching his full weight. He was very drunk.

"Hey there Cisco," she said, trying to gently shove him back onto the chair at the kitchen table. Joe looked up and chuckled.

"Remind me never to let him near the eggnog again," he joked as Caitlin successfully put him back in his place. He mumbled something incoherent before lying his face down on the table. Barry laughed, stepping next to Caitlin and looking at their friend.

"He really went at it this time," he commented, taking a sip of the oh-so-delicious hot chocolate. Caitlin eyed him enviously. She wanted more.

"Well now!" H.R. called from the sofa, getting everyone's (except Cisco's, obviously) attention. They turned to him. "It looks like Barry and Caitlin have ended up under the mistletoe!" Both the pair's eyes widened as they realized he was right. They started babbling, trying to get themselves out of the situation, but Harrison pushed them close together so that their bodies were touching. "No excuses!"

They stood there nervously, everyone in the room eyeing them in anticipation. H.R. couldn't be serious. They weren't seriously going to have to kiss were they? That was a stupid tradition high school students made up so they could make out without consequence, right? They were all adults here. They shouldn't have to do things like this. Why was the stupid mistletoe even hanging there in the first place?

"Jus-s-s-s kiss already!" Cisco exclaimed, before promptly dropping his head back onto the tabletop again. Barry and Caitlin turned back to each other, expressions unsure. Slowly, Barry lowered his head to her level, and she, equally slowly, leaned in as well. The silence was deafening. The tension was so unnerving. This was not how either thought this night was going to go.

Their lips met, and it was surprisingly… okay. Neither expected the kiss to be unpleasant, but they thought it would feel forced or unnatural or just wrong. This felt right. Their lips melded together perfectly, and they both felt warm and comfortable and happy. Barry's hands found her messy brown curls, and Caitlin's found his face. They forgot about the mistletoe, about the party, and about everyone around them. In that singular moment, it was just them, kissing. It felt so right.

A cough broke them apart. Cisco, despite his drunkenness, was apparently sober enough to realize the interaction was getting very real.

"That was w-w-eird," he said loudly. Barry and Caitlin separated, avoiding each other's eye contact. They scanned the room, and everyone quickly went back to what they were doing, pretending to not have been watching the entire time. The two awkwardly sat across from each other at the table next to Joe and Iris.

"So, you liked my hot cocoa?" Barry asked, face as red as the super suit he ran around in. Caitlin bit her lip.

"Yep."


	9. Day 9 - The Christmas Song

**Day 9 – The Christmas Song**

 __ _Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…_

Barry sat in front of the fire, mesmerized by the flames dancing back and forth. He was quite impressed that it was managing to stay lit for so long. He figured the snow would have put it out by now. Regardless, he enjoyed the sight. Something about fire was so calming, so constant, yet so random.

Caitlin was a bit too busy to admire the beauty of the glowing shapes in front of her. She and Barry were attempting to roast chestnuts, and they weren't entirely sure what they were doing. She'd found on the internet somewhere that you should put them in a cast iron pan and roll them over every 5 minutes.

"How many more times do you think I should do this?" she asked, setting the pan back down over the metal bracket they had over their fire pit. Barry gave her a confused look.

"What? Weren't you only supposed to flip them once?" he asked. She returned the look of confusion.

"I thought it said once every five minutes for…" she trailed off, realizing it definitely had not said that.

"Aw man," Barry said. "They're probably ruined."

"You could've said something earlier," she grumbled, only half-upset, as she removed the pan from the bracket and set it down in the snow to cool off. She could've cooled it using her own powers, but she couldn't be bothered. It was Christmastime; the time to relax.

"We've only been out here for like a couple minutes," he defended, getting out of the chair he was sitting in to stoop down and examine their potentially-ruined foodstuffs.

"Barry, it's been an hour," she said. His eyes widened.

"What?"

"You've been looking at the fire for an hour," she repeated, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She had kind of hoped the two of them would spend a romantic evening together, cuddling around a fire and munching on snacks. Unfortunately, Barry had zoned out an hour previous, and she was stuck tending to the stupid chestnuts.

"I'm sorry," he said, giving her a hug. She sighed. It was hard to stay bitter when he was such a good hugger. Good huggers had an unfair advantage over the rest of the people in the world. They could easily sort out problems just by wrapping their arms around the offended party. Caitlin was rather jealous of them.

"Well, I should probably throw these out," she said, removing herself from his embrace and attempting to pick up the pan. She was interrupted when his soft lips pressed against hers. She smiled.

"I'm sure they're not that bad," he said, as he pulled away. She watched him in anticipation as he cautiously picked up a chestnut and began unpeeling it. Caitlin noticed a few black spots but thought nothing of it. Probably just little burns because of how long they roasted them.

As soon as the food entered Barry's mouth, he began coughing and gagging, flailing his arms wildly. Caitlin's anticipation was replaced with disappointment. She had hoped against hopes that maybe it would actually be good. Her husband was still flailing wildly, spitting bits out of his mouth, before he finally tripped over something in the deep snow and fell on his back. She couldn't help but giggle as she walked over to examine him. He was still waving his arms sporadically, and his hood had somehow slipped on. In that big fur coat he looked rather like an Eskimo. A big red Eskimo.

"That bad, huh?" she asked, offering him her hand once he finally stopped flailing. He took it, standing up with an unpleasant expression on his face.

"Yeah," he responded, wiping off his mouth again. He was about to walk back towards the fire, but then noticed it had finally gone out. He pouted. He really liked looking at that fire.

"Wanna head inside?" Caitlin asked. She, of course, couldn't get cold, but Barry looked to be shivering.

"Yeah," he said, looking glum. She took hold of his hand and pecked him on the cheek as they walked inside. He perked up slightly.

"So, what are we gonna eat now?" he asked as they were removing their coats. She rolled her eyes. Always hungry.

"I think there's some leftover stuffing in the fridge," Caitlin responded, yawning. She found herself getting tired more quickly as of late. Barry paused, thinking, before a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Back in a Flash," he said, and was gone in a gust of wind. She scoffed. He was utterly ridiculous. But, he was true to his word. As promised, he was back a few seconds after he left, holding a fully cooked, succulent-looking turkey.

"Where…" she started, wondering where he could've possibly gotten that.

"Doesn't matter," he said with a mischievous grin, setting it on the table. She chuckled, grabbing some silverware from their utensils drawer and plates from the cabinet and sitting down next to him. They were about to begin digging in when they heard tiny footsteps and a tired-sounding high-pitched voice. They both smiled, seeing their daughter Nora awkwardly waddled into the room; much like her father before her, she was a clumsy walker. She was wearing a red Flash-themed onesie and her light brown hair was sticking up everywhere. She looked absolutely adorable.

"And what are you doing up so late?" Caitlin asked, engaging her higher-pitched baby-talk voice. Barry smiled. It was cute when she did that. Caitlin leaned down and picked their daughter up, giving her a hug. She handed her to Barry, who took her protectively into his embrace.

"I can't sleep," she mumbled, words slurred together and pronounced somewhat incorrectly. However, in the 4 years that they'd been raising their daughter, the Allen's had learned how to understand her.

"And why not, honey?" Barry asked, bouncing her up and down slightly on his lap.

"When will Santa be here?" she asked eagerly, clutching her stuffed animal (cutely named "Beary") close to her chest. "And can reindeer really fly?"

"Well, he only comes when children are asleep," Barry said. Nora's eyes widened. "And of course they can fly. How else would he get around the world so quickly?"

"G'night!" she said, hopping off of his lap and waddling away back towards her room. The parents chuckled.

"She's so curious," Caitlin commented, watching her as she disappeared into the darkness of her room.

"She gets it from her mother," Barry said. Caitlin smiled. The two sat in silence for a few moments. "Hey."

"Hey," she responded softly.

"Merry Christmas," he said, pulling mistletoe out of his pocket and holding it above them. She laughed, before leaning in and kissing him, grabbing his face and pulling him close.

"Y'know," she said, catching her breath and resting her forehead on his. "You don't need mistletoe to kiss me."

"I know," he said, still smiling that same wide Barry-smile. She giggled. He was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door. He looked puzzled as he got up and opened it. "Cait," he said, gesturing for her to come stand with him. She was confused at first, but began hearing a chorus of voices singing Christmas songs. Carolers. What a delight.

The happy couple stood next to each other, smiling widely. The small choir (composed of people of all ages) sounded very nice.

"We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!"

 _Merry Christmas to you._


	10. Day 10 - Decorating

**Day 10 – Decorating**

"Ta-da!" Barry exclaimed, speeding around the Christmas tree, placing all the ornaments and making the entire thing look festive and aesthetically pleasing. He looked eagerly at Caitlin, but was surprised by her lack of enthusiasm.

"Barry, what point is there in a Christmas tree if you don't decorate it," she said, crossing her arms. He gave her a confused look.

"I just did… decorate it," he said, gesturing to the tree.

"Yes, _you_ did, but I didn't even get to place a single thing," she said, looking wistfully at the tree. She did have to admit, her boyfriend had a talent for decoration. Despite how mismatched they seemed, all the ornaments fit together on the tree perfectly, complimenting each other and giving it a sort of "melting pot" of designs look. The reindeer, all various shapes and sizes, were strewn across the top, all facing the same direction, giving the impression that they were orbiting the plant. The Santa Clauses were placed directly above them, as if they were riding their magical steeds around. The standard round, shiny ornaments were arrayed in a lightning bolt down the center of the great spruce, and they were outlined with Christmas lights. The rest of the ornaments were little mismatched snowflakes and tiny pictures or even little baubles Iris and Barry may have made as children, and they were scattered about.

It was gorgeous.

"Oh," Barry said disappointedly, before speeding around and undoing his work. She bit her lip. She really had the urge to tell him to stop, but she really wanted to participate.

In a second, the tree was bare again. Barry gave her a half-smile, offering her a small ornament. As she took it in her hand, she saw it was a small picture of the two of them put inside a beautiful metal snowflake with a red hoop atop it. She pecked him on the cheek before placing the ornament on the tree. It was at her eye level.

"Thanks," she said, looking grateful. He smiled.

"Of course," he responded. The two admired the photo for a few moments, remembering the day it had been taken…

* * *

"Barry, come on," Caitlin said, somewhat annoyed. She was being tugged along through the cold, snowy Central City streets by her overly-excited boyfriend. He practically skipped around, examining every store they went by. First it was the bagel shop, then the candy store, then he made her go into the toy store with him because he saw a Flash action figure. He could be so ridiculous sometimes. He even dragged her away from the clothing and apparel establishment she was peeking into. She would've quite liked to get a scarf, but no of course not, Barry really wanted to go on a "winter adventure," whatever that meant.

"Jitters!" he exclaimed, still clutching her hand like his life depended on it. She groaned as she was dragged into the coffee shop. He stopped abruptly to avoid slamming into the line of people, which made her run into him. She grumbled, stepping out to his side. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. The speedster then waved his arm at one of the baristas who smiled at him knowingly. He grinned back, before pulling Caitlin over to one of the tables and sitting down. She sat down across from him, hand finally released and gave him a confused look.

"Why aren't we in line?" she asked in confusion.

"I've got connections," he joked. She rolled her eyes.

"So… where to next?" she asked somewhat unexcitedly.

"This is it," he said. She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry I've been kinda… annoying," he said.

"Mhm," she responded, and he chuckled.

"I just really wanted to bring you back here."

"How come?" she asked, annoyed expression softening.

"Well, 2 years ago, we came here because I asked you to get hot cocoa with me," he explained and she smiled.

"If I recall correctly, you didn't _ask_ ," she retorted.

"Well, I did ask. Just not about the hot cocoa," he said with a wink. She giggled. "And because of that – and because of you – this has been the best time of my life. I wanted to bring you here because this is our 2-year anniversary, and it seemed fitting," he explained, pulling out a small box. Caitlin's eyes widened.

 _He couldn't be… this couldn't be it. Am I ready? Is he ready? Do I even want to?_

Caitlin's train of thought stopped when he opened it and revealed something that was not a ring. However, she gasped as she saw what it was. It was a beautiful sparkling silver necklace with tiny blue gems encrusted all around it. It was beautiful. Barry removed it from its casing and handed it to her.

"Happy anniversary," he said as she took it from him. She put it on, still admiring its beauty. "It looks great on you."

"I love you," she said, reaching over the table and kissing him deeply. He smiled on her lips.

"2 hot cocoas for the happy couple," the barista said with a grin, making the pair separate. Barry pulled his phone out.

"Would you mind taking a picture of us?" he asked. She smiled back.

"Not at all," she said, taking it and aiming it at them. They leaned in, smiling at the camera.

As Caitlin smiled, she pondered the thought of Barry proposing to her. Upon further consideration, she decided that she definitely would've said yes.

* * *

"I thought you were going to propose to me that day," Caitlin said with a chuckle. Barry gave her an odd look.

"What?"

"When that picture was taken, I thought you were proposing to me."

"Oh, yeah," he said, chuckling. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed like it was forced. Oh well, no need to focus on that. It was time to decorate.

The pair continued for a while, before Barry held up a shiny red bauble with cracks in it.

"Is this broken?" he asked.

"No," she responded, a soft smile on her face. She took it from him, examining the decades-old cracks in it.

* * *

 _*crack*_

Mrs. Snow turned around in fright, seeing her 5-year old daughter looking terrified. Large shards of a red ornament lay at her feet.

"I… I'm sorry," she stuttered, eyes welling with tears. Mrs. Snow sighed, kneeling down next to her daughter. She wrapped her arms around Caitlin and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"What happened?" she asked after pulling away. Caitlin sniffled wiping a stray brown curl out of her face.

"I just dr-dropped it," she muttered, looking down sadly at the broken ornament as if it somehow represented her shattered dreams.

"Don't worry, hon," she cooed, standing up again and walking briskly into the other room. Caitlin wiped her eyes, looking curiously after her mother. She returned a few moments later with a tube of superglue in her hand. "Not much that superglue can't fix."

Caitlin's terror and sadness were slowly replaced by fascination and joy as her mother reassembled the sphere shard-by-shard.

"Good as new!" she exclaimed, holding the bauble up to her daughter. Caitlin cautiously took it in her hands, being careful to avoid touching any of the cracks. She slowly tiptoed over to the Christmas tree and hung it as high as her short arms would allow.

* * *

"Aw, I bet you were a cute 5-year-old," Barry commented, pecking her on the cheek as she hung the orb. She rolled her eyes.

They continued hanging the decorations in silence for a while longer before Caitlin found something that intrigued her.

"What's this?" she asked, seeing an old, wrinkled piece of red construction paper with faded lettering on it. Barry chuckled as he saw it.

"You are looking at the beginning of mine and Iris' friendship," he said with a smile.

* * *

"Dad, please don't make me come," Barry pleaded, trying to loosen the death grip his dress shirt collar had on him. Henry chuckled, eyeing his son in the rearview mirror. Nora turned around to respond.

"Barry, come on now, it's a nice Christmas party, and the West's were kind enough to invite us. It will be fun," she assured him with a smile. He sighed, pouting and looking out the window. Who even were the West's? Why did he have to visit them? He didn't want to.

Regardless of the young boy's wants, he ended up being greeted by Joe West just a few minutes later, shuffling into his house and sitting in the living room awkwardly. He felt so uncomfortable with all of the strange, unfamiliar adults. At the very least, he hoped that he would just sit in this rather comfortable chair for the next couple of hours and not have to deal with anyone trying to talk to him.

"Hey," the voice of a girl he vaguely recognized said.

"Um… hi," he said timidly, not looking at her.

"Wanna help me with this?" she asked, holding up a piece of red construction paper. Barry looked at it inquisitively.

"What is that?" he asked.

"A piece of red paper," she said, rolling her eyes. He didn't really know how to respond. "My dad wants me to write a list of things I'm grateful for, because apparently I was being ungrateful earlier or something," she said, looking annoyed. Barry's confusion intensified.

"But… if it's what you're grateful for, how can I help?" he asked. She shrugged.

"We can both make lists. Things are nicer when you work together," she explained, setting the paper down along with two black markers.

"I guess so," he said, moving closer so he could reach the markers.

"I'm Iris," she greeted, offering her hand.

"I'm Barry," he responded, shaking it and smiling.

"Nice to meet you."

* * *

"How cute," Caitlin said, placing the sheet of paper on the tree. It was then that she realized they'd used up all of their ornaments. "That was fun," she said, stretching her arms. "See, isn't it much better when…" she trailed off, seeing Barry kneeling on one knee behind her. Her eyes widened as he pulled a small box out of her pocket Her mind was racing at 100 mph. No, scratch that, it was racing at Barry's top speed. It broke the sound barrier. It broke the time barrier. He opened it and she gasped. A beautiful ring with red and light blue gems on it sat inside the velvet prison.

Barry opened his mouth, but was interrupted by her practically shouting.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she said, practically jumping down onto him and wrapping her arms around him. She kissed him fervently, all over his face and his neck and everything within reach. She had waited so long for this. This was all she wanted.

This was perfect.

"Caitlin Allen has a nice ring to it," he said as she finally calmed down enough to let him slip the ring onto her finger.

"Caitlin Allen has a nice ring on her," she joked, getting a laugh out of him.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she responded.


	11. Day 11 - Lil' Frosty

**Day 11 – Lil' Frosty**

"Barry! Help!" Caitlin's voice echoed through the hallways of their cozy suburban house. Barry's eyes widened, and he sped as quickly as he could (which was _very_ fast, mind you) to the origin of his wife's voice. He looked on in abject horror as he saw her frantically trying to push down the door of their daughter's room.

"What're you doing?" he exclaimed.

"It's frozen!" she yelled in frustration, again bashing into the door. Barry felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. Frozen… It couldn't be Snart… could it?

He brushed the thought aside, instead deciding to focus on the more pressing concern; his daughter was trapped inside a room with a door frozen shut.

"Hold on," he said to Caitlin, taking her by the shoulder so she stopped ramming into the door. He put his hands up against it. "Nora? Stand back!" He then vibrated his hands and shattered the frozen door into a million pieces. The couple rushed into their daughter's room, looking around frantically. They found the 6-year-old smiling and throwing snowballs at her wall. The truly confusing part of the entire situation was that there was no snow from which she could be producing these. It was almost as if she had her mother's powers…

"Nora?" Caitlin asked, her concern for her daughter now replaced with confusion. "What are you doing, honey?"

"Making snowballs!" she exclaimed, throwing one at her mother. Caitlin barely even noticed the orb impacting with her shoulder.

"And… um… how did you make them?" Barry asked, crouching down to her level.

"Like this!" she exclaimed in excitement, holding up her hand. At first, nothing happened. After a few seconds of intense concentration, a cold aura appeared in her palms, and then a snowball appeared out of the blue. Barry jumped back in surprise. Nora gave him a worried look.

"What's wrong, daddy?" she asked. He gulped. They couldn't just have a simple Christmas, could they? If it wasn't the Reverse Flash, it was Weather Wizard and The Trickster. If it wasn't them, it was Zoom. If not he, then Savitar and Alchemy. And on and on and on and on, rogue after rogue, year after year, Barry and the team would defeat them, and their Christmas would be a messy battle. He thought that after so many years, maybe the Flash would get Christmas off to spend with his family and relax.

"Sweetie, you wanna go on an adventure?" Barry asked, recovering from his shock. Nora's eyes lit up, quite appropriately, like a Christmas tree.

"Yes!" she yelled, hopping up and down in excitement. He forced a smile, looking at Caitlin concernedly.

"One moment," he said, before speeding off, taking Nora with him. Caitlin frowned. This was going to be a long Christmas.

* * *

"That's so cool!" Cisco exclaimed, proudly high-fiving Nora.

"Thanks, Uncle Cisco!" she said happily. She had shown him her new powers and he was very impressed. Before she could demonstrate her ability to freeze objects, a blast of wind surprised both of them. Barry appeared, Caitlin holding onto him. They separated.

"So uh…" Cisco started. Caitlin bit her lip.

"Yeah…" Barry responded, scratching his neck. The 3 had absolutely no idea how to deal with this. They'd taken on criminal masterminds, madmen with superpowers, "speed gods," and they somehow could not handle a 6-year-old with ice powers.

"Lil' Frosty?" Cisco suggested with an expectant smile. Barry face-palmed and Caitlin hit him on the head. "Uncalled for," he grumbled, rubbing his head. Caitlin felt a snowball to her back. She looked at Nora confusedly.

"Don't hit Uncle Cisco!" she said, glaring.

"Young lady, do _not_ hit your mother with snowballs," he said sternly. She refocused her glare on him. Why was she acting like this? She was usually so sweet and well-behaved.

"Whatever," she said, stomping away. Barry was about to say something, but was surprised by a blast of wind. In a flash, his daughter was gone. He looked frantically at his two friends.

"Did she just…" Cisco began, but before he could finish his sentence, Barry was off running. "Double meta! Double meta!"

"Shut up!" Caitlin exclaimed, running towards the computers and booting them up. She had to track her daughter somehow. Find high-speed anomalies, or spikes in icy temperatures. She scanned Central City, but to no avail. The only speedster signal she found was Barry, who was running at a disturbingly fast rate, and she couldn't search for unusually high temperatures, because this was one of the whitest Christmases the city had ever experienced.

 _Don't panic. Everything will be okay. This is fine._

Everything was not fine.

* * *

"Come on, Cisco, anything?" Barry shouted, still running as fast as he could, scanning the area for Nora. No answer from Cisco. Central City Park? Would she go there? She liked the feeding the geese. But it was winter. Would she be there? It couldn't hurt to check.

 _*fwoosh*_

Not there.

The candy store. Where else could she be? She spent more time in that place than Barry spent kissing Caitlin. Well, okay, maybe not that much time.

 _*fwoosh*_

Not there either.

Jitters. She couldn't go a week without at least one cup of hot cocoa from there.

 _*fwoosh*_

No dice.

After speeding around for what felt like hours, Barry ran home to grab another jacket. His had flown off at some point, and he was getting concerned. As he trudged down the hall tiredly to his and Caitlin's room, he heard noises from Nora's room. He sped in, seeing her sitting in the same corner she had been in earlier. She was making a snowman, and she looked incredibly sad.

"Nora? What's wrong?" Barry asked, kneeling down and giving her a concerned look. He was taken aback when she met his eyes. Her eyes had turned a shade of blue so bright that it almost looked white. Barry gasped, realizing what was happening. "Nora, stop doing that," he said.

"No," she responded, looking angry. Her voice echoed, much like Caitlin's had before they'd been able to fix her powers. Barry figured it was better to be safe than sorry, so he made no further discussion before grabbing his daughter and running her back to STAR Labs.

"Ah!" the speedster yelled, setting Nora down in the cortex. Caitlin ran over to them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, examining Barry's shoulder. It was frozen solid. "Nora! What did you do?" she exclaimed. Nora shouted at her, before chucking an icicle at her. Caitlin yelped, ducking out of the way, as her daughter tried to run to the other room. Luckily, a power-dampening cuff was strapped around the young girl's arm. Her eyes returned to their normal pigment, and her expression changed from anger to confusion. Cisco pumped his fist in the air with a triumphant "woot!" and Barry and Caitlin breathed sighs of relief.

"Mommy?" she asked, looking confusedly at all the adults in the room.

"Yes, sweetie?" Caitlin asked, kneeling down and taking hold of her daughter's hand.

"What happened? Why am I here?" she asked, looking around oddly.

"Oh… um…" Caitlin trailed off, trying to think of a good excuse. She was a terrible liar.

"You got sick, and mom and dad brought you here," Cisco chimed in, patting her on the shoulder. She looked up at him with worry.

"Am I still sick?" she asked.

"Well, do you see that shiny, new thing on your arm?" he asked. She nodded, examining it in awe. "That keeps you from being sick!"

"I'll never take it off!" she said happily. "Thanks, Uncle Cisco!" He smiled at her, giving her a big bear hug.

"Who wants to go get some hot cocoa from Jitters?" he asked excitedly. She jumped up and down, matching his hype. "Let's go then!" he smiled at Barry and Caitlin over his shoulder, mouthing 'you're welcome," as he left. Barry rolled his eyes, finally breaking the ice off. He gritted his teeth. For a 6-year-old, she had pretty strong powers.

"Here, let me help you with that," Caitlin urged, grabbing her medical supplies. Barry chuckled. "What?"

"You're still patching me up. Even after 18 years," he said, wincing as she cleaned up his injury. She smiled, pecking him on the cheek.

"Hard to believe it's been that long," she commented after a while, bandaging the injury. He flexed his arm slowly.

"It's been a good couple of decades," he responded, wrapping his arms around her. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Seems like the most interesting stuff always happens around Christmas," she added, leaning in slowly.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year," Barry remarked. Caitlin giggled as their lips met.


	12. Day 12 - First Christmas

**Day 12 – First Christmas**

"Merry Christmas," Barry said, attempting a smile as he sat down in the cortex next to Caitlin. She looked up at him, lips pursed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, swiveling so her chair was facing him instead of the computer desk.

"Well, I just got beaten half to death by the man who killed my mother," he said glumly. "Are you okay?"

"Well, my supposed-to-be-dead fiancé saved you from getting killed," she responded, chuckling bitterly. Barry sighed.

"I should've been faster," he said, rubbing his temples and cringing. His face was pretty banged up. Caitlin looked at him with concern.

"You're bleeding," she said, standing up and walking over to her lab area.

"I'm fine, Caitlin," he assured her, but she still kept walking. He sunk further into his swiveling chair.

"Here," she said, sitting down and scooting closer to him. She took a disinfectant wipe and dabbed his cheek, making him flinch ever-so-slightly. "Sorry," she muttered, before applying a small bandage to his cut.

"Thank you," he said, smiling.

"No problem," she said, trying to smile back. He wished she would smile more. She had such a pretty smile.

"Thanks for always patching me up," he added, not wanting to sit in awkward silence.

"Of course. That's what I'm here for, after all," she responded, slightly bitter. She seemed to be in quite a bitter mood tonight, not that he could blame her.

"Hey, come on, you're not just… my nurse or something," he said.

"I was for 9 months," she said, typing away on her keyboard a little bit too aggressively. Barry bit his lip. There were a few moments of the awkward silence he dreaded so much. "I'm sorry."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, turning towards him yet again. "That was rude."

"I'm sorry you had to be my nurse for 9 months," he said, somewhat jokingly. He got a small laugh out of her.

"It wasn't that bad. Not much happened," she admitted, smiling at him.

"But uh… yeah… you're not just my nurse," he continued. She looked at him inquisitively. "You're my friend. My really good friend." She smiled, her cheeks tinting red.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "You're my… really good friend too." The pair sat there for a few moments, eyes darting around the room randomly. It wasn't awkward, per se, they just weren't sure where to go from there. Surprisingly, it was Caitlin who made the next move.

She stood up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Barry, making him jump slightly. He returned the hug, smiling into her shoulder. She tightened her grip, and Barry could feel her tremble slightly. He pulled away, eyeing her concernedly.

"Caitlin? What's wrong?" he asked, still holding onto her shoulders. She sniffled, blinking a few tears out of her eyes.

"I um… Ronnie… I just wasn't…" she trailed off, voice shaking. Barry pulled her closer, rubbing her back comfortingly. They sat there, hugging each other for a while.

Barry felt a little awkward; their embrace seemed more than friendly, but she needed comfort and he needed to be there for her. That's what friends were for.

Caitlin felt vulnerable and exposed. She hated feeling that way. That was something she'd reserved for Ronnie. Only he should be able to see her like this. But he was dead. Or was he? Maybe he was…

This was precisely the reason she was opening up to Barry. She was so confused and emotionally distraught about all of it. Well, that and the fact that she was quite fond of Barry. Maybe a little too fond.

 _Stop it, you're engaged_ her inner voice reprimanded her.

 _Were engaged… he's dead_ her other inner voice added.

 _But is he dead?_ Yet another inner voice continued.

"Stop it," she said suddenly, making Barry jump back in surprise. He let go of her and scooted backwards.

"I uh... sorry, I didn't realize…"

"No, I wasn't… I was talking to myself," she admitted in embarrassment.

"Oh… uh… why were you telling yourself to stop? If you don't mind my asking," he said.

"I was just overthinking things," she said, doing her best to be vague.

"Okay," he said. "Well if you… want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thank you," she said, smiling.

"And not just like… right now, right here. Like I mean I'm here for you. But not like I'm here in this lab just for you, but not like um… I can be there for you whenever you need me. Not that you need me… in your life… er… Please feel free to stop me whenever you want." Caitlin giggled. His Felicity-esque rambling was quite adorable.

"I do need you in my life," she said, surprising him. "Where would I be without the Flash?"

"Where would the Flash be without his doctor?"

"I thought I was your nurse," she joked, standing up and picking her jacket up off of the back of her chair.

"Don't sell yourself short," he said, standing up with her. She smiled as she put the warm jacket on. "You heading out?" he asked, grabbing his own jacket.

"Yeah," she said.

"Mind if I walk you out?"

"Not at all," she said, smiling. The pair walked out of the cortex and down the hallway, footsteps echoing throughout the quiet facility. The silence wasn't eerie, it was peaceful. Peaceful as silence should be during the Christmas time. It was warm, inviting, welcoming. Both of the pair quite enjoyed it.

They indulged in their mutual silence on the elevator trip, and out into the parking lot. Before they reached Caitlin's car, snow began falling. Barry's face lit up, and Caitlin smiled even wider. The pair froze in the nearly-empty lot, looking up and admiring the sight above them. It was beautiful. It was Christmas.

"Barry," Caitlin said quietly. Barry looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to… go for a walk?" she asked, seeming nervous. His large smile somehow widened even further.

"Yes," he said simply, gesturing for her to lead the way. She began walking.

The two of them strolled around the city, unsure of where exactly they were going. They walked past brightly-lit office buildings, happy couples sharing kisses under mistletoe, families drinking hot chocolate, quaintly-decorated toy stores and coffee shops; everything one would expect to see around this time of year.

The air was brisk, chilly even, but the pair did not mind in the slightest. Every once in a while, they would brush hands, or tap elbows, or touch shoulders accidentally. Barry would instinctively move a bit away from her, and Caitlin's cheeks would turn a few shades redder.

A few times, Barry was tempted to hold Caitlin's hand, but he felt that would be crossing a line. Quite ironically, she had the exact same thoughts. It was a shame, really, that neither of them had made an attempt; neither would have objected to it.

"Hot chocolate?" Caitlin asked, pointing towards Jitters. Barry smiled.

"Definitely," he said, turning and opening the door for her. They walked in together.

"Oh, hey guys!" Iris said happily as they reached the counter.

"Oh, Iris, hey!" Barry said with a grin. Caitlin smiled and nodded at her.

"What can I get you?" she asked, voice chipper.

"Two tall hot chocolates," Caitlin said, holding up two fingers.

"Coming right up," Iris said, smiling widely at Caitlin. The two of them sat down at a nearby table waiting for their drinks.

"This is nice," Barry said after a few moments.

"Yeah," Caitlin said, trying to suppress a yawn.

"Sorry, am I that boring?" he teased.

"No, it's just getting kind of late," she said, checking her watch. It read 11:45 PM.

"Should I get you home?" he asked, looking a little concerned. She smiled. He was so sweet and caring.

"Our hot cocoa hasn't gotten here yet," she said. "Plus, my car is still back at STAR Labs."

"Okay," he said, feeling better. He was worried that he was beginning to bore her. He hadn't said much in a while, and he wasn't exactly the most interesting person.

Quite contrary to what he was thinking, Caitlin was having an amazing time. Despite their silence, Barry's company was so comforting and happy, and his good mood was infectious. She felt like she wasn't alone anymore; she felt like she didn't have to force herself to be alone. For the first time since Ronnie's death she was… happy.

"Two hot chocolates for the happy… pair of people drinking hot cocoa," Iris said awkwardly. The two gave her confused looks, oblivious to the direction her sentence was going before she stopped herself.

"Thanks," they both said at the same time. Iris chuckled, muttering something to herself as she walked away.

"Well that was… odd," Caitlin said, and Barry nodded.

"Good hot chocolate," he said, taking a sip. She copied his action and sighed in satisfaction.

"It's delicious," she said. The two stared at each other for a while, smiling. "Hey Barry?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."


End file.
